Unlocking the Meaning of Lost
by theVisforVampire
Summary: A wise man once said, "all discarded lovers should be given a second chance". Guess he never met Katherine and Stefan. Set post 3.10.


**Author's Note: **Hey guys! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Too Wicked to Love.

My besfran, let's call her Katro, and I have decided to jointly write a Steferine fanfic based on our role-play together and we are VERY excited to see how this pans out! She is writing as Katherine & I'm doing Stefan. Feedback is appreciated!

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><p><strong>K A T H E R I N E<strong>

_Did I really just let my ounce of humanity show? _Katerina was shocked with herself. Only a few hours ago, had she given Stefan her version of "the talk". And not the pleasant one about sex. Had that been the case, words would not have been needed. Instead, she had just scolded him about needing his humanity… that she, herself, still had her moments when she let her humanity slip. But now, she regretted ever saying anything. Katerina was strong. She was a monster. Who _really_ needed their humanity, anyway?

She had left Stefan at the hotel suite that the pair had claimed as theirs. Whether he liked it or not, Katerina was sticking by Stefan's side. There was no way he could handle Klaus on his own… especially when he committed the biggest crime ever, according to Klaus: taking his coffined family from him. And Stefan may not have agreed to it, but now more than ever, he needed her. They already had their leverage to keep them safe. Now it was a matter of playing this game the right way. One wrong move and it would all blow over. And in his "ripper" state of mind, Katerina knew that Stefan was prone to taking all the wrong steps if she let him do this alone.

Not too far from their hotel suite, she'd noted a bar on their drive to town. She could use a good pick-me-up. Perhaps a few. She walked to the bar, for it really wasn't that far at all. And upon entering, she inhaled deeply. The place smelled like sweaty men, cigarettes and liquor. A couple of heads turned her way. She was amused. But one young man in the far corner of the bar caught her eye. He was glancing over at her; no, staring in a very obvious manner. A coy grin-turned-smirk formed on her lips. _Oh… you should not have done that. Not at all._

**The following morning.**

"Mmmm." She shuffled ever so slightly in bed, sensing the presence of another beside her. "Good morning," she leaned in, nipping at his exposed shoulder, her eyes still closed. There was no response. Perhaps she'd drained him the night before? Without even realizing it; that was the only reasonable option. He was a great ride though. And his blue eyes… the way they went wide in fear as she exposed her monstrous features, how could she not want to take a bite out of him? Or a few, for that matter.

Katerina's eyes fluttered open finally. She glanced over the lifeless body. One look at the dried blood at his neck, and… She rushed out of bed, nearly tripping, as her insides churned. The wave of nausea was unexpected, but she let it out once she reached the bathroom attached to her room. _What's wrong with me? _Heaving and trying to take deep breaths, she managed to finally slow her breath down, allowing the cold air fill her lungs. Wait a minute… she never needed to take a breath before. Sure she did it sometimes, but now she found she couldn't turn it off. _Stop. _It wouldn't stop. _Cut it out. _She tried holding her breath as she stared into the mirror above the bathroom sink. A few moments later, she realized she was cutting herself from something her body was crying out for.

_No…won't…give in… _When she finally couldn't handle it any longer, she gasped out a heavy breath, inhaling deeper than before. "What the hell is going on?"

Growing frustrated she punched the wall to her side… only to yell out in pain. "Mother fu- OUCH!" She cradled her throbbing fist in her other arm, her eyes wincing the tears back, that were trying to make their way out. "Shh….shake it off, Kat." And she did just that. It still hurt slightly, but what could she do about it?

What was going on with her though? She hadn't felt so queasy about blood since…she was human_. _She had no need to breathe, since she was human. And pain this great… she hadn't felt that way, once again, since she was _human_. No… it couldn't be. There was no possibility. No way in hell. She knew what she had to do.

She opened the bathroom door slowly, covering her eyes from the sight of the corpse in her bed. She pranced by quickly, making sure to slam her bedroom door behind her as she escaped. Taking a deep breath, she dropped her hand to her side. Her chest heaved up and down at a quick pace; one would probably think she was on a drug high or something. "Stefan," she whispered. Surely he would hear her, right? When he didn't come right away, she knew she had to fear for the worst: the same cards of fate had been dealt on him.

She waltzed quickly through the suite's living room, to the other side of the room, where Stefan's bedroom door was located. She didn't bother knocking. She allowed herself in, witnessing Stefan fast asleep. She couldn't help but to smile slightly. That was one thing she had always admired about him. She loved to watch how he slept on his back… the pleasant serene look he kept as he dreamt.

Snapping at out if, she remembered why she had even bothered coming to him. "Stefan." She ran over to him, pouncing on him, ending in a straddle. Not at all graceful, in fact. For centuries, she had been graceful and light with her movements, much like a cat. But since there was a problem with her… her movements were more clumsy and forceful. "Stefan, wake up damnit. We have a problem." She shook him lightly, making sure his focus was on her. "I… don't understand what's going on. But…" As if on cue, a low grumbling noise sounded from her abdomen. She blinked, not surprised that yet another thing had gotten worse. She lowered her voice to a whisper, her eyes searching for something in his. "I think I'm…human. I don't know why…" Her body growled at her again, informing her of what it wanted. Half growling back in response, her features hardened. "And I'm hungry! Fix this. Fix me."

**S T E F A N**

_"What the hell did you do?"_ Damon growled at him, accusation burning bright in his eyes as he stared at his younger brother. Stefan pushed himself off his brother, brow furrowed. The cold fury coming off Damon in waves made something inside Stefan twist, for it was not only anger he sensed, but shame, betrayal, and disgust - a conglomerate of emotions Damon had never targeted towards him before.

_"He's earned his freedom," _Klaus intoned softly as he towered above Damon. _"Thank you, my friend,"_ the Original murmured, staring into Stefan's forest-green orbs. _"You no longer have to do as I say. You're free."_

For a moment, Stefan could only stand there, eyes filling with the light they'd recently lost, as memory after memory came pounding back into his head in a matter of seconds. Months of torment, torture, and blood, there it was. All in his head again, like a stain he would never been able to scrub clean. Feeling a range of emotions wash over him, varying from guilt to revulsion to despair, Stefan allowed himself the moment to savor his hard-won freedom. By the time he turned back to Damon to offer explanation, his older brother was nowhere in sight.

Wrapping his arms around himself, Stefan stepped outside the Lockwood mansion, staring up at the starry night sky. Damon was alive, but at what cost? If he hadn't prevented Damon from killing Klaus, they would all have been free, but Stefan couldn't picture freedom without Damon. There was no life for him without his brother. Pain wracked at both his head and his heart, and first and foremost, he wanted - no, he needed - to see Elena, but something was holding him back. He had to turn it off. There was too much damage done for him to get his old life back, and if he felt it all now, he would break. He inhaled deeply, smoothing his hair and wiping his hand across his eyes.

x.x.x.x.x

By the time Stefan glanced at the little red lights on the car's clock, he was surprised to see that they'd been on the road for three hours. Three hours passed in complete and total silence. He didn't know exactly why he'd agreed to go along with this kamikaze mission of Katherine's, going with the woman he hated in a car that she may or may not have stolen after they'd both sabotaged his brother's he knew was that he and Katherine were currently the proud owners of several desiccated Originals and that their location had to be kept from Klaus at all costs. Despite whatever lingering affection Klaus bore him from 1920, betraying him again would only end in one way - with a stake through the heart.

As the miles between them and Mystic Falls grew greater and greater, Stefan finally had to admit that this plan wasn't ALL Katherine's doing. Despite having his freedom back, and even his humanity if he wanted it, he didn't really want to return home, if that was what it even was anymore. Home was where the people who loved you were, and he doubted anyone loved him anymore. No, it's better just to be Katherine's partner on the road, and put aside everything that happened in his past. Maybe a new life is what he needs, and maybe it's poetic justice that she's part of it this time. And to tell the truth, she's all he has. He has the whole world to live in, forever, and yet he can't think of a single place he would rather be. Maybe Katherine's a bit like home.

By the time they arrived at a five-star hotel (obviously, nothing else would suit her), it was close to dawn and all it took was a bit of compulsion to get them the fanciest suite in the place. Of course, they both had gobs of money collected from over the years, but they were both loathe to part with their loot when compulsion was just so much more fun. _No,_ Stefan reminded himself swiftly. _It wasn't fun. It was easier. Fuck. Keep telling yourself that, Stefan._

He didn't know what Katherine would spend her night doing, but for his part, he lay around in his boxers watching T.V. and ordering room service. And by room service, he meant the waiter that brought up the meal, although hell, the fruit sorbet and Tahitian crab was good too. He fell asleep sometime before the sun came up with a glass of blood diluted with vodka in his hand. Despite the danger they were in, he felt carelessly content. His dreams were filled with the faces of the people he'd killed, of the names he scratched into his wall, of the expression on Elena's face when he had been forced to hunt her as per Klaus' orders. But then a calm would come over him and he'd relax into an easy slumber again, dreaming sweet dreams of the good old ripper days. It should have disturbed him, but it didn't. He knew he should be feeling something, but he avoided anything that would cause him to feel, because it would lead him to the one thing he was now afraid of most, even more than Klaus - his humanity.

Suddenly, his pleasant dream of ripping out a beautiful young nun's neck was shattered as something warm and heavy collided with him. Eyes flashing open, he reeled back in shock as he saw a terrified Katherine looming above him. _**"**_Katherine, what the hell?" he winced, attempting to shove her off him, though for some reason, she didn't budge an inch. He sat into an upright position, which ended up in her sliding onto his lap, against his morning wood, and for some reason, Stefan had never been more mortified. A pale blush crept into his cheeks, but his tone came out as arrogant as ever. "Just go down to the dining room and see if any of the breakfast-goers takes your fancy," he quipped, putting his glass to his lips to get the last few drops of blood still remaining at the bottom. Holy mother of god, what WAS this vile concoction? Stefan's stomach rebelled and he had to bite his inner lip to refrain from gagging as he forced the contents of his stomach down. "You're not human. Don't be an idiot," he muttered, putting the glass on his nightstand.

Turning back to her with an evil glint in his eye, he added, "On second thought, that blood tasted a bit stale. If you are human, I'm _sure_ you wouldn't mind if I took a nip as a little pick-me-up?" he smirked, wrapping his hands around the side of her face to bury his fangs in her neck.

_Or not._

"Katherine, what have you done to me?" he demanded, hands tightening around her throat, staring at the red mark on her delicate olive throat. His teeth had made indents in the skin but it hadn't broken. "What have you done to me?" he demanded, wildly, desperately. "I swear to god, if you've done something to cause this," he threatened, though it was an empty threat. "And what on earth is that noise?" Stefan asked in bafflement, cocking his head in her direction. Suddenly it hit him. It shouldn't have been funny, but in light of their recent situation, it struck him with utter hilarity and he threw his head back and laughed. "Come on," he offered, extending a hand to her. "We'll shower and go down for breakfast."


End file.
